On the next day, the second day of the tournament, the colosseum once again
had an abundance of spectators, even more so than the previous day.
The new faces mostly belonged to visitors from outside Arvenca town.
While most of them were able to arrive on time yesterday, a few others were delayed by circumstances or chose to arrive today.
Beasts, men, and carts full of various types of materials could be seen moving or being moved towards specific buildings.
Arvenca town is a town that holds immense economic significance throughout all of Outer Valdoria.
It is the only town with a low-grade spirit mine, full of spirit stones essential for the cultivation of every cultivator in Outer Valdoria.
But that doesn't mean the other towns are worthless.
They have resources of their own, which come in the form of minerals or special materials and substances that they can sell to the academy in large amounts.
Some of these materials will be turned into weapons or treasures that the academy can use to equip their students with, as long as they have enough points, or they can be used for other purposes entirely.
An example of one of these resources would be Tranquil Water from a town known as Milzara.
This resource is said to be capable of inducing a state of calmness in a cultivator, heightening their awareness.
This makes it a perfect tool for law comprehension, especially when it comes to water laws.
And so towns are divided into ranks depending on the quality of resources they have.
Arvenca is a rank three town, Milzara is a rank two town, while Thrain's town, Belmora is a mere rank one town.
Towns like Belmora depend on other towns for support, and this is what led to the partnership between Thrain and Jurgen, who wasn't the mayor at that time.
Though Thrain was a bit different compared to most mayors.
Back to the Myriad Arena—
A dwarf with a muscular body holding a hammer and a shield was now facing off against a catkin who held a dagger in each hand.
The two fighters were Asvald and Klaus.
Asvald's shield, which glowed faintly, shimmered with a defensive aura that seemed almost impenetrable.
Klaus, who used a lightning-based movement ability, combined with his natural agility, flickered like a wraith.
His movements were a blur, as his quick reflexes made him nigh untouchable.
When Asvald would swing his hammer in heavy arcs, each blow a thunderous threat, Klaus would always dodge with breathless grace.
Asvald was built for perfect offense and defense, but Klaus possessed unparalleled agility and speed making it extremely difficult to hit him.
No matter how Asvald tried, he couldn't land a single meaningful blow on the cat-kin.
The same was true for Klaus as well.
Even with his speed and agile movements, his attacks couldn't get past Asvald's defenses.
And each of Asvald's attacks posed a significant threat to him, forcing him to be wary of every attack.
Eventually, Klaus' physical stamina started to plummet.
His breath became shorter and a little bit more ragged.
On Asvald's side, things weren't going well for him either.
His energy reserves were depleting the more he generated shield qi for defense and hammer qi for offense.
He then looked at Klaus, whose breathing was uneven, and noticed his accumulated fatigue.
After a brief clash, his shield qi vanished, and he charged at Klaus, swinging his hammer fiercely.
But this time it wasn't strengthened by hammer qi.
Klaus managed to dodge the attack, to which Asvald responded with even more relentless and aggressive attacks.
Klaus immediately noticed the change in Asvald's fighting style, and he was momentarily flustered as he continuously dodged, 'Why is he now more aggressive?'
Klaus took a moment to observe Asvald with his keen cat eyes as he watched the hammer smashing down towards him and dodging at the last second.
'His shield qi and hammer qi are gone? Could it be that he is about to run out of energy? So, that's why...?'
Seeing this as an opportunity, Klaus launched himself forward with renewed vigor, taking the initiative.
'It's about time I used this.'
He didn't use this move earlier because he thought it wouldn't be as effective as it would be in a moment due to Asvald's shield qi.
But now, with his energy nearly depleted, he was presented with the perfect chance.
|Shadow Art: Shadow Paralysis|
Asvald's movements halted for a moment, and Klaus took advantage of this short moment of Asvald's weakness.
His dagger found flesh, a glancing but solid hit.
But Asvald's eyes betrayed no panic—only fierce calculation.
He immediately broke free from Klaus's bindings after channeling qi all throughout his body.
With Klaus now so close to him, he swung his right hammer arm towards Klaus.
Klaus dodged to the right, avoiding the heavy blow.
Before Klaus could effectively react, on Asvald's left hand, his shield's edge, concentrated with shield qi, turned into a sharp blade of energy.
Facing this unexpected attack, Klaus could only raise his daggers to block, but was knocked back.
Klaus lost his balance, and Asvald was quick to capitalize on this moment of weakness and swung his hammer towards Klaus, who he was sure couldn't defend against this attack.
And sure enough, Asvald's hammer smashed into Klaus's side, sending him flying.
Having faced such a strong and direct attack, Klaus was made incapable of fighting anymore as he couldn't even find the strength to stand up.
Asvald walked over leisurely to the weakened Klaus and placed the edge of his shield at his neck, signaling the end of the match.
"Winner, Asvald Karakith!"
Immediately, cheers filled the colosseum as Asvald was making his way back to his chamber.
Klaus was carried out of the arena to be treated for his injuries.
Jarek, who had been keenly watching the battle, was surprised by Asvald's unexpected maneuver—turning defense into offense.
He really didn't see that coming.
'He kind of reminds me of the Shield Hero.'
Inside another underground chamber, two people were conversing with one another.
"His fighting style is quite similar to yours. He would be quite a challenging opponent for you." Brynhild said as she finished analyzing Asvald's fighting style.
Astrid just remained silent, keeping her thoughts to herself, already certain of her victory if that match were to happen.
She had kept some cards hidden under her sleeves, only to be revealed when the situation called for them.
She had some even prepared especially for Brynhild.
Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard the announcer's voice after he had taken cards from the box and read them aloud.
"Next match, Number 31—Princess Brynhild Blazoria, against Number 42—Ember Solaria!"
"It seems it's my turn now." A minute later, both Brynhild and Ember were in the arena.